Summ’it aims to connect audiences through audio storytelling
The Digital Radio Mondiale Consortium used UNESCO World Radio Day to stage what it describes as a coordinated series of unique broadcasts, technical demonstrations and AI-enabled education showcases designed to underline the capabilities of the DRM digital radio standard.
The organization says the activities focused on demonstrating how DRM — a digital radio standard designed for use across AM, shortwave and FM bands — can support education and public-value services, including in areas without reliable internet access.
According to DRM, two live interactive training sessions brought together more than 60 participants across five continents. During the sessions, DRM experts demonstrated how artificial intelligence tools can convert text into audio and support multilingual lesson delivery via digital radio transmission. The consortium says partner transmissions on shortwave were carried across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania, with reception reports received from countries including Austria, Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and the Netherlands.
DRM also reported what it described as a first-of-its-kind DRM demonstration in FM broadcasting in South Africa. The DRM South Africa Group launched the transmission from a high site in Northcliff, Johannesburg, operating on 91.25 MHz with a 70 W transmitter output. According to the consortium, the demonstration delivered multiple services simultaneously on a single FM frequency via DRM, including educational and informational programming. DRM says the showcase also highlighted the use of Journaline for text-based information services alongside audio.
Ruxandra Obreja, chairman of the DRM Consortium, said the World Radio Day initiative was designed to emphasize the delivery of education at scale. “We used educational content to be broadcast on DRM worldwide. We wanted to show how sophisticated, multilingual lessons can reach hundreds of millions of students without access to basic education. DRM, available through digital signals and empowered by AI, is a way to allow so many people on all five continents to progress as individuals and as part of their communities,” she said.
The consortium says the coordinated broadcasts and demonstrations were intended to illustrate the global reach of the DRM standard and its potential role in education, information delivery and public communication services.
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